Treats for Troops seeks donations

Easter is on its way, and Treats for Troops wants to make the holiday special for soldiers in harm’s way.
Members of First Christian Church will be putting together boxes for soldiers serving in combat zones overseas and they’re reaching out to the community for help. In order for the boxes to arrive by Easter (April 12), they need to be mailed by the end of March, said Harriet Adams, the coordinator of the Treats for Troops project.
Donations can be dropped off at the Ennis Daily News, Prosperity Bank or First Christian Church. Anyone who knows a soldier serving in harm’s way is asked to fill out a form available at the above locations to provide the soldiers’ APO/FPO address. Boxes will be sent to every soldier whose address is received.
“It takes so little,” Adams said. “We know times are tough for everybody, and that’s why we aren’t asking for anything big. These men and women are so thrilled with these comforts of home.”
Donations of both items and cash will be accepted and the group is also hoping community members will provide personal letters for the soldiers. These letters really mean a lot to the troops, Adams said.
She points out that a letter thanking soldiers written by Ennis resident Judi Goodwin was posted on a bulletin board in a base’s post office overseas where it caught the eye Tex Cody, a soldier from Mesquite, who saw that it was from Ennis. Goodwin’s return address was enclosed, and he wrote to thank her for her thoughtful letter.
The items needed are simple. The list of recommended items includes:
• Individual sized bars of soap packed in bags to keep food items from tasting soapy
• Small package of disposable razors and shaving cream
• Toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste
• Lip balm and tubes of sunscreen
• Deodorants
• Small packages of Tylenol and Advil
• Baby wipes
• Hand creams and moisturizers
•Shampoo and conditioners (hotel/motel sizes are perfect)
• Eye drops
• Canned meats (no pork)
• Sealed beef jerky
• Canned chips or salty snacks in cans
• Can or cello sleeves of peanuts
• Homemade cookies (must be packed in coffee cans or chip cans)
• Individual condiments from fast food restaurants including ketchup, mustard and especially salsa in cello sleeves
• Hard candy (no soft or chocolate candy)
• Little Debbie cakes or brownies (pack in chip cans)
• Package snack crackers (pack in chip cans)
• Package tuna or chicken meals with crackers
• Individual packets of water flavor enhancers such as Water Sensations, Crystal Light and Lipton Tea
• Plastic zipper lock bags used to keep sweat and sand from destroying anything soldiers carry in their pockets such as family photos. Soldiers routinely face sandstorms and temperatures over 100 degrees.
• Cans of Silly String to identify booby traps (make sure it can shoot across a room)
• Crossword or Sudoku puzzle books
• Nerf footballs
• Writing pads and pens (no stamps – military provides this)
• Birthday cards for soldiers to send home to family and friends
• Paperbacks, Westerns, Comedies – no war books
• Small hand-held electronic games with batteries
• AA and AAA batteries
• Cotton or leather gloves to keep metal guns from burning soldiers’ hands in hot weather
Some general guidelines from Treats for Troops include:
• No liquid items or pork products
• Pack all crushable items in containers
• Pack items that can leak or ooze in plastic zipper bags
• Pack soap items in bags to keep food items from tasting soapy
• Buy only small sizes so that a large variety of items can be included in each box and are lightweight to carry in backpacks.
“We are not asking only for these items, but also cash donations,” Adams said. “For $10.35, we can send one box to one soldier. We cram it as full as we can. We don’t waste an inch of space in those boxes.”
The local Treats for Troops project has been providing these “care packages” for soldiers for over three years. Donations for the Easter shipment must be delivered to the Ennis Daily News, Prosperity Bank or First Christian Church by March 26 in order to be received by the soldiers by Easter.

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on Mar 19 2009. Filed under News.
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